1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system in which a peripheral device such as an image reading device is commonly used by a plurality of information processing apparatuses provided on this network system.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, a large number of common systems are established. In these common systems, peripheral devices such as image reading devices are commonly used by a plurality of terminals provided on network systems.
In this case, either a manager of the network or a user of the image reading device must go to an actual place where the image reading device and other devices are physically located, and then must manually perform complex installation operations and also complex setting works.
Also, when the above-explained common system is constructed, the software of this common system is required to be installed into all of the devices provided on the network. Therefore, with respect to a certain device to which this software need not be originally installed, there was a case in that a waste of resource occurred.
Also, even when the common system can be constructed, since users on the network cannot simply become aware of the setting content of this common system, a certain number of users cannot use this setting content.
As previously explained, in the above-described conventional network system, in the respective devices connected to the network, even when there is such a device to which the image reading device is connected, there is no way to commonly use this image reading device unless the user actually goes to the place of this device connected with the image reading device and properly sets this device. As a consequence, there are some possibilities that the user cannot effectively utilize this device. Also, there is a problem that since the function of the common system is installed to all of the devices provided on the network, there was a case in that a waste of device resource occurred.
On the other hand, a user utilizes an image reading device provided on a network via a terminal apparatus in such a case that this image reading device is locally connected to own device, or is locally connected via the network to another device.
In such a case, it is desirable that this network user may utilize this image reading device without paying his attention to the connection mode of this image reading device.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-explained problems, and therefore, has an object to simply set the following environment without any loss. That is, since a common system is also automatically constructed with respect to such a device on a network, to which an image reading device is connected, a resource such as this image reading device can be effectively utilized.
Another object of the present invention is capable of optimally constituting the above-explained common system with employment of network management information, since the user on this network or the manager of the device constitutes a desirable common system of the image reading device.
Another object of the present invention is such that when a common system is constituted, this common system is effectively used by the user of the network.
A further object of the present invention is to realize such an environment. That is, even when an image reading device is directly connected to a network, or is locally connected to a terminal apparatus on this network, a user of this network can easily utilize this image reading device irrespective of a connection mode of this image reading device.
A still further object of the present invention is to realize such an environment. That is, a user of a network can readily utilize an image reading device without paying his attention to a connection mode of this image reading device.